LAS VEGAS – A dark curtain swung in front of the small UCLA locker room at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, as an expressionless Ben Howland walked in, forced to be the bearer of bad news.

The locker room was supposed to be alive with the Bruins' hopes of a Pac-12 Tournament title. Just moments before, UCLA had wrapped up a second-consecutive second-half comeback, this time surmounting an 11-point deficit with 10 minutes remaining and beating Arizona, 66-64.

But as the curtain swung open and the Bruins coach emerged, a somber tone befell the room. What was meant to be a celebration had in an instant become more like a funeral.

Less than an hour before Howland brought news to his team that freshman Jordan Adams would miss the rest of the season because of a broken foot he suffered on the game's final play, Adams had found a zone on the floor that few Bruins players – or any player, really – had found all season. For a stretch in the game's most important moments, Adams scored 13 in a row and singlehandedly swung the momentum as he took over the game.

Through the second half, Adams was an artist in the middle of painting his masterpiece, driving aggressively to the hoop and drawing foul after foul. When it was all over, Adams had shot four more free throws (13) than the entire Wildcats team. He knocked down key mid-range jumpers, going 5 for 8 from inside the arc, and in perhaps the most important moment of the game, up two points with 1:13 remaining, Adams knocked the ball carefully out of Arizona point guard Mark Lyons' hands, broke away, and drew yet another foul.

He'd finish with 24 points in his piece de resistance performance on the night of what would ultimately – and unknowingly at the time – be the final game of his impressive freshman season.

"He really had it going," Howland said.

And so did his Bruins, who will play Oregon, a 64-45 winner over Utah in the night's other semifinal, for the Pac-12 Tournament title Saturday night. But the optimism of its first tournament title since 2009 had already faded away as Howland emerged from the brief meeting with his team.

He had told them that Friday's postgame would be without celebration – the news of the Bruins' loss deflating the mood from one of UCLA's most important victories of the season. UCLA players throughout the locker room hung their head in a mix of shock and disappointment. Senior point guard Larry Drew II sobbed in front of reporters as they asked him whether this team could possibly find its potential without Adams, who had been such a key cog in the Bruins' offense all season long.

Fellow freshman Shabazz Muhammad looked ahead just a few feet away from Drew and spoke softly as he answered the same questions. Likely a one-and-done player, Muhammad, like Drew, wouldn't play again with Adams – a reality that had just begun to sink in.

"I don't know what we're going to do," Muhammad said. "This is bad for us. We're going to the tournament, and we were feeling really confident. This is terrible."

Muhammad's early struggles in the game had opened the door for Adams to excel with Arizona's defense locked in on the Bruins' leading scorer from the opening tip. He finished with 11 points, but his role was a supporting one, as Adams was the undoubted star of the show.

Adams has long flown under the radar, because of the high profile of his freshmen teammates, all three of which were ranked significantly higher than Adams before coming to Westwood. But all season long, Adams has undeniably been the most consistent of the group, leading the Pac-12 in steals during conference play and scoring the eighth-most points of any player in the conference.

Without him, the Bruins will be forced to navigate the postseason with, essentially, a six-man rotation – a nightmare situation for Howland, who has been wary all season of putting his players in any situation that could result in dissolving the little depth that UCLA has had since Josh Smith and Tyler Lamb left the team.

But the Bruins will soldier on with an opportunity to wrap up a Pac-12 title tonight. But as the somber atmosphere of the locker room filled more and more with welled-up eyes and worry of where their season could possibly head now, the curtain swung shut for the night, leaving questions of whether UCLA will ever truly recover for an encore.

"Just everything we've been through all season," Drew said, struggling to get out the words, "it seems like we can't get a break."

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.